September 23, 2020

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Canada Customs: The Present and Future of Imports and Exports

Scott Bowman, Canada Customs Development Manager at Crane Worldwide Logistics has worked in the supply chain industry in Canada for almost 20 years.

Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Scott develops Canada customs solutions for our clients in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

Scott recently took part in our 'Coffee with Crane' podcast series to share his customs knowledge, insight, and experience.

Below is an exert from the podcast interview 'Canada Customs: The Present and Future of Importing and Exporting'. 

Can you tell us more about Customs in Canada? 

There are three main topics that are key to Canada's customs currently to cover. Firstly, July 1st was a big day in Canada, not only was it Canada Day, but it was also the roll-out of NAFTA 2.0, you can call it the USMCA or the CUSMCA, we like acronyms in this industry so for the purpose of this podcast, let's call it NAFTA 2.0.

Another area that has been brought up with Canada customs recently is the Canadian export reporting system (CERS). CERS is a web portal based system that replaces an antiquated system called CAED, meaning any exporter from Canada can now go online on the web portal and create any documentation needed to export from Canada. Further details available here.

The next topic is the CARM portal, which is the Customs Assessment and Revenue Program that due to COVID-19 was delayed but is now back on track. 

What is the status of CARM? (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management)

Currently, the first release is due in January 2021 and the second release is scheduled for the fall of 2021 and at the point, what we would like to see is that all importers into Canada, resident or non-resident, acquire their own surety bond. 

Regarding USMCA, what should importers do who previously had a NAFTA certificate?

Great question, because a formal certificate of origin is no longer required, a certification of origin with a minimum set of data elements will be required. These data elements can be listed on any documents that are traveling with the shipment however, we have noticed that a lot of importers have difficulties adjusting their templated commercial documentation. So we have created a USMCA certificate of origin template that does house the necessary data elements. The USMCA certificate of origin documentation is available here 

If you have any questions relating to Canadian customs or would like to speak to one of our Canadian customs experts, reach out to the Canada team. Crane Worldwide Logistics has warehouse space available in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary and can provide intermodal transportation for all your cargo needs. 

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You can view the full podcast video below: